Back in November, I noticed that Moose was limping a bit on some of our walks. The limp comes and goes, but with the recent colder weather, the limp is here more often than not.
In fact, during the several days of sub-freezing temperatures, Moose seemed worse than ever:
- He would yelp or whine at even the lightest touch near his hips or rump.
- He limped when he walked.
- He held his back feet very close together while he walked or stood.
- He was very restless at night, and seemed to have a hard time finding a comfortable position.
- He’s spent a lot more time sleeping on the couch, and less on the floor.
My guess is that the cold is aggravating his hip pain — the veterinarian pointed out that Moose has hip dysplasia when I saw his x-rays for his broken tail. Aside from that, nothing much has changed in our routine. We still take four or five walks every day. He’s still welcome on the bed and has plenty of soft places to sleep. He hasn’t been hit or hurt, and he doesn’t roughhouse with Lally.
My poor old man — Moose turned eight this month. I celebrate his “gotcha” day as his birthday, since I don’t know when his real birthday is. On January 25, 2004, Moose officially went from foster dog to member of the family.
We’ll be off to see the doctor this week. If nothing else, maybe a joint supplement and some painkillers (Moose has done well with Rimadyl in the past) will ease his discomfort. In the meantime, I’m keeping the house a little warmer than usual. We’re taking shorter walks (which Lally doesn’t like very much). I’ve been trying to avoid touching his hips.
Hopefully, it’s just the weather and not something seriously wrong… but I’ll let you know what I find out.